Broken Heartbeats
by what a feeling
Summary: He loves. She panics. Percabeth. AU, one-shot.
**DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO/HoO or anything else you may recognise**

 **A/N: In case you're wondering, I have a bunch of Works In Progress I'm finishing up, so there's going to be a whole load of updates this week, and I'll update Where I'll Wake Tomorrow some time soon, too. I think I should fix a schedule on that fic- I'll update every Sunday, how does that sound? Starting next week, though, sorry! Also huge shout out to Escape4rmReality who's reviews make my day! I'm sorry, buddies! At least two more one-shots/ short stories on their way over the next couple days. THANKS FOR READING, BBs! ~Annie xx**

 **EDIT.**

 **1\. Sorry. I lied. Didn't mean to, I swear, I just haven't felt like finishing up those fics. I'M SORRY!**

 **2\. ALSO OMG I SWEAR I HADN'T WATCHED STUCK IN LOVE AND I WATCHED IT NOW BECAUSE OF ALPHA1214'S REVIEW AND OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW IT'S LITERALLY THE SAME THING UGH I FEEL a) A little cool bc I thought of a MOVIE PLOT THIS IS AWESOME and also b) Kind of ridiculous because GODDAMN IT, ITS ALREADY A MOVIE.**

The song's really catchy, even if it's not really her kind of music. It's one of the new pop chart toppers, she thinks, and she can't help but sway her hips to the beat. Silena's full out grinding against Beckendorf and she's lost sight of Piper. She carefully winds through the throng of bodies, trying to avoid as man drunken party goers as she can. She thinks she could have climbed up the Grand Canyon faster than the time she took to reach the bar.

She just about gets onto the barstool, and hasn't even asked for his attention, but the bartender abruptly stops talking to the guy in the seat beside her and turns his attention to her.

"What can I get you, Beautiful?" He leans over the counter with the biggest trouble-maker grin she's ever seen, and she rolls her eyes.

"Knob Creek." He raises his brows a little, but she ignores it. "Old fashioned." She finishes with a slight scowl, and the bartender wordlessly gets to work on her drink. The guy beside her lets out a low whistle, and she turns to look at him.

"What?" She snaps, and he looks a little startled by her. It makes her feel a little guilty, but not enough to apologize. He shakes his head and finishes his beer before he answers, so she takes that time to study him. He's good looking, for sure, with his messy dark hair and lean build, and she would have considered going back to his place for the night, but she catches his eyes, and all hopes of that go flying out the window. They're green and large and compassionate and he's got this _look_ , and Annabeth knows exactly what he's like- He's into _dating_ and _falling in love_. She knows his kind- Her brother's one of them, and god, no, she doesn't want to have anything to do with people like him. He's done with his drink by now, so he opens his mouth to answer her just then.

"Nothing. Strong stuff." He nods to the drink the barkeep had just placed before her. "Didn't peg you as a bourbon kind of girl." She raises her brows.

"That's gutsy. You don't know me." The guy just shrugs with a small smile, and _yep_ , he's definitely like Malcolm, she decides.

"I like to think I can read people well."

"Clearly you can't." Annabeth says, turning to her drink and deciding her conversation with the guy has come to an end. She's a little annoyed when he speaks up again.

"You haven't given me a chance." He smirks, and Annabeth resists her urge to groan. Great, she's stuck speaking with this guy, and she's never been good at blowing people off- That's what she needed Piper for. She smiles tightly at him, hoping to get him off her back by being painfully awkward.

"Oh? What else do you think I'm like?" Even she can hear the strain in her voice, but he takes no notice of it.

"You like art. Sculpting, and maybe photography." Annabeth cocks a brow, and he looks at her, as if waiting for her to confirm this.

"You just got lucky." She gestures for him to go on, and he beams.

"You like crime novels and science fiction." That's two right, and Annabeth can't help but be a little impressed. She asks him how he knows, and he shrugs, still grinning from ear to ear. "I cheated. We've got economics together. I sit behind you."

Annabeth feels a little disappointed because she was actually quite amused by him, but she doesn't pay it much attention. It's pretty obvious he'd know if he sat behind her in economics- She doesn't know why she even picked to do economics- It doesn't contribute in any way to her major, and it bored her to death, and she spent most of her lectures reviewing her art on her laptop. She shrugs.

"You lost that mysterious aura you had going for you." She smiles a little, and he laughs. It's loud and carefree, and nothing like the usual mean, condescending ones she's used to hearing from any of the boys she's ever been with. He holds out his hand.

"Pleasure to finally meet you. Percy Jackson." She takes his hand cautiously.

"Annabeth Chase." She gives him a small nod. She doesn't think she's ready to get into this just yet- It's all happening too fast for her, and she wishes she could have had a time out. She decides the only way to handle this situation is to spend the rest of the time pretending he doesn't exist, which is what she sets off doing, until he goes ahead and asks her the one thing she _really_ didn't want to hear.

"So, do you want to go out somewhere some time?" She takes a breath and wonders how to deal with the situation. She could be rude and flip him off- It's not something she hasn't done before- but he's a _nice guy_ , which complicates things so much more, and god, she hates the spot he's put her into.

"Look, Jackson, it's been great." She says awkwardly, taking her cup and getting to her feet. She needs to get out of here, she decides. "But I don't do dates- I'm not that girl, either." She jokes half heartedly before turning to leave, not looking up to meet his eye.

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward, no, don't go." He calls, but Annabeth doesn't think she can handle sitting there for a moment longer. She bravely reenters the thick crowd of dancers in search for Piper.

She dances with her best friend until someone walks up to her and taps her on the shoulder. She turns around to see a guy a couple of inches taller than her, smiling at her. She stops swaying to the music to get a real look at him. He's good looking, she decides, and lets him mumble out an introduction. She checks the delicate watch on her wrist before looking up to him.

"Hi, Riley. I'm Annabeth." She finally says when he gives her the chance. "I've got a nine a.m. tomorrow, and it's two thirty right now. I don't have the time to flirt, if you want to bang, we leave now."

Riley looks at her like she'd just slapped him across the face but also offered him rainbow bagels, and she taps her foot impatiently. She's used to boys being really confused by her behavior. He'd snap out of it in 3…2…

"Okay, yeah. Let's go to my dorm, we good?" He asks, expression almost hungry, and Annabeth needs to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Like most other guys she goes home with, Riley appears to be all brawn and no brain. He flashes her a smile showing off a set of perfectly aligned whites before grabbing her hand and leading her out. She calls a quick goodbye to Piper as they head out, but she isn't fully sure her best friend, who is _way_ too many drinks in, hears her.

oOo

Her life in college is really just a blur of assignments, essays, parties and sex, and strangely, she's okay with it. Ever since she'd met him at the party, Percy Jackson had thought he could wave and smile and _acknowledge_ her when he saw her in class, and even when she tried to ignore it, it didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

She's in the café with Silena, going over her notes before her physics midterm, when she hears the door open, and, for some reason, decides to look up to see Percy Jackson enter the café, a pretty redhead behind him. His eyes seem to land on her almost immediately, and he beams at her, giving her a wave, that she returns with another tight smile. She doesn't get why he insists on being nice to her, even when she's making it obvious she's not interested.

She watches absently as he places his order and the two of them pick a table not too far away from them. She blinks out of it, turning back to working on her problem, but looks up when she feels Silena's gaze on her. There's an amused smile playing on her lips, and Annabeth scowls.

"What?"

"Who's your friend, Annabeth?" She asks playfully, and Annabeth rolls her eyes, shutting her book and kicking back in her seat.

"Nobody. He's in my economics class."

"What's his name?"

"It's none of your business. Shouldn't you be studying?"

"Stop deflecting the topic." Silena fires back, now bursting into laughter. "Why are you _blushing_? Oh my god, this is serious." She takes a discrete peek behind her at Percy and his friend, who are both too busy laughing to notice the girls' stares. "We need to get that girl out of the picture." Silena decides and Annabeth raises her brows.

"No, we don't. What's wrong with you?" She reaches out to hold Silena down. "She might be his girlfriend. Leave it be."

"So you _do_ like him?"

"What makes you think that? No, I don't." Annabeth says, crossing her hands over her chest. "You know I don't. Liking means emotions and that leads to falling in love, and, _no_ , okay?" Silena seems to decide to back off at this, she raises her arms and drops it.

"Have you decided on your minor yet?" She finally asks. They're supposed to pick by the end of the sophomore year, and Annabeth's been speaking with her tutor over the last few weeks about it.

"I think I'm going to major in studio art and physics, you know?" She says conversationally. "Minor in Spanish." Silena gapes at her.

"Are you crazy?"

"That's what my advisor said, too, funnily enough." Annabeth grins, and Silena rolls her eyes.

"Only you'd be more comfortable taking more credits than what's needed." She laughs, and Annabeth relaxes slowly. She bends over her notebook again, and gets to work on solving the problem. She immerses herself in her work completely, and only looks up when Silena announces that she's heading back to her dorm- There's a big Phi Kappa Sigma party later in the evening, one that almost everyone Annabeth knows is going to. She'd decided she was going to sit this one out, though, because she needs this weekend to really unwind. There's been too much partying, and she thinks her body needs a break from the strain. She bids her friend goodbye before putting her legs up in her seat and turning back to her work.

She bites her pen in frustration, because she just can't seem to figure this out, and completely misses the young man approaching her. She jumps when he taps her shoulder, her head snapping up to see Percy standing over her, his expression a little cautious. She immediately recomposes her features and smiles lightly at him.

"Hey!" She greets, not rudely. He returns her smile.

"Hi. Is this seat taken?" He asks, and doesn't wait for an answer before taking the seat Silena had previously been sitting in. She cocks a brow at him, but he flashes her a big smile. "You studying?" He asks her, and she makes no attempt to carry on the conversation, turning back to her problem. He stays silent for a while before speaking again. "Is that physics? God, I was shit at it in high school." She doesn't respond, and he pauses for a while longer.

"Listen, Annabeth," He says in that _tone_ , and she sinks further into her seat because she knows there's no getting out of it now. He's here to talk about _sentiments_ and _emotion_ because she probably _hurt his feelings_ and- Oh no. "I just wanted to apologize to you, if I've made you uncomfortable in any way. Look, you're just really pretty and I think you'd be a fun person to get to know." He says earnestly and Annabeth bites her lip. "If you want me to stop talking to you, I will. I never meant to trouble you." He looks a little disappointed, and she watches in silence as he gets up to leave. He probably expects her to say something, because it doesn't take that long to get off a chair, so she takes a breath before grudgingly opening her mouth.

"It's not you." She flinches at how corny she sounds, but her mouth continues on, regardless. "It's me. Don't be so hard on yourself." She flashes him a smile and for a moment he doesn't respond. She thinks she's offended him by being too cheesy and is about to try to rectify it, but his face cracks into a smirk, and she regrets ever saying anything.

"It'll be nice to know you." He repeats again, and Annabeth realizes she can't pretend she didn't hear it again. She nods to his redheaded friend who was looking at them curiously.

"You might want to get back to your friend." She says, but Percy waves her off, pulling out his phone.

"What are you doing tonight? We could meet up at the party at Phi Ka-"

"Oh, I'm not going." Annabeth is thankful it's the truth; she's a terrible liar. She smiles apologetically at him but his grin only widens.

"Fantastic." He hands her his phone. "Just key in your number and I'll text you. There's a great sushi bar in town that I want to go to." Annabeth knows there's no getting out of this, so she lets out a resigned sigh before putting in her number and looking up at him with a smile.

"This isn't a date, Jackson." She just really wants him to leave.

"Fine by me. Pick you up at eight." He winks, shoving his hands in his pocket and walking back to his table.

oOo

She doesn't hate Percy, and that scares her a little. He's kind, he's funny, he's smart, but she can also tell that he's intense- He doesn't like, he loves. She tells herself he's her friend, sort of, and that's all it's going to be- No complications, that way, but it's this intensity that suddenly hits her like a train. She puts down her fork and knife, and covers her mouth.

He's talking about his mom, and how he's everything to her, and suddenly, she can't take it anymore. He _loves_ his mom, like he _loves_ basketball or swimming. He _loves_ reading Michael Crichton and he _loves_ Coca Cola, and she really can't get through this anymore. Her stomach churns uncomfortably and she feels sick to the bone. She's on her feet in a flash, excusing herself and leaving the table. She can feel him watch after her as she walks off in a direction that isn't the washroom. He calls after her, but she's already headed to the door.

New York City isn't a particularly safe place, especially well into the night on a Friday night, and she knows better than to be walk all alone in a pair of killer heels down a deserted alley, but she just really needs some air.

She leans against the wall and clutches at her sides, hoping to stop her insides from churning. She bites down on her lip to stop the tears from falling, but ends up drawing blood. The tears trickle down her face anyway, and she ends up letting out a soft gasp. Her whole world is thrown off balance, and she doesn't know what to do- There's only so much _bullshit_ she can take about love; listening to Percy speak is as if he's trying to bring her down, brick by brick.

He seems convinced that loving something is a positive sign, but Annabeth knows the truth- Love is a fantasy, it's not real. Her parents were in love; then her mom cheated. She's never felt love, neither directed at her nor the feeling herself. She doesn't know what it's like, she can't imagine what the emotion is, that drives people to do the craziest things. _It's a myth_ , she wants to scream, but she sees Percy, who so wholeheartedly believes in this power, and in all honesty, it terrifies her.

What if he's right? She doesn't want to believe it, but if there's people like Percy in the world, who knows what the truth is. She doesn't want to spend another moment talking to him- Wants nothing to do with him, really, because he's delusional. He's making her second guess herself, and the possibility of her being wrong is the single scariest thing she's ever experienced.

 _Love doesn't exist_.

She hears footsteps around the corner, and they're hurried, like someone's running, and she straightens up, smoothening her dress.

"Annabeth!" Percy's voice calls, and he sounds worried. She's a little embarrassed, so she doesn't step out, and lets him find her. When he does, he holds her by the arms, bending a little to look at her in the eye. She averts her gaze, settling on the sidewalk instead.

"Are you insane?" He snarls, catching her by surprise. She'd never thought she'd hear Percy take that tone with her. She looks up, and his features almost immediately soften. "Hey, don't cry. What's wrong?"

She shakes her head, trying to wipe at her eyes without smudging her makeup. He relaxes his hold on her shoulders, and steers her gently out of the alley and into his car. She gives up on trying to stop the tears- He's already seen her, anyway. She lets them drop, dragging her mascara down her face. Percy drives in silence for the rest of the way back, and stops when they get to her halls. She doesn't make an attempt to get out- It's warm inside, and she feels like she owes him an explanation, even though she can't think of a good enough lie.

"Do you want to talk?" Percy asks quietly, and she finds herself shaking her head. He sighs. "Do you want to sit here for a while?" She nods silently. He leans back in his seat and looks out of the window without sparing her another look. She can tell he's still a little mad by her running out on him, but he's too nice to bring it up. They sit in the car in silence for a while longer, until she reaches a decision that her brain's screaming for her to not follow through.

"I was six," Her voice is rough and breaks slightly, but she can't stop her mouth from moving. "My dad used to travel a lot, and my mom was a doctor. They'd given me my own set of keys, and I'd go home to an empty house every day. They were just really busy, I guess." She shrugs, and risks glancing at Percy, who's looking at her with his intense gaze. She takes a shaky breath. "I was sick, one day. My teacher offered to drop me home- She said I really needed some rest. We got home and she dropped me off at the porch. I walked in, and I could hear them." She shudders as the images come up at the back of her mind again. "My mom was with a man I'd never seen before and they were really going at it." Her voice is quivering.

"Annabeth, you don't have to-"

"My dad's still waiting for her." She finishes quietly. "We moved out of Virginia-to California, that year. Him, my brother and me. It's been just us for so long, but he's still holding out on the hope that she'll come back. He doesn't deserve that." She turns back to face Percy. "I know people have divorced parents, Percy. It's just- That isn't something I want for myself. I don't want to wait for someone all my life, when they don't give me the second thought."

"You've never given yourself the chance to fall in love."

"Don't say that to me." She pleads, fresh batch of tears forming. "What do you expect from me? She's not coming back, Dad's never going to be as happy."

"You can learn to love." Percy reaches out, intertwining his fingers in hers. She feels warm, safe.

"I don't want to."

"I won't force you."

Maybe it's what he says, maybe its how he says it, or maybe it's because her emotions are all over the place, but for a moment, Annabeth lets herself believe that love _does_ exist, and maybe it's not such a bad thing, after all. She reaches over, pressing a light kiss to Percy's cheek, before leaving the car.

oOo

She steps out into the sun, a little nervous. It's the first time she's come back to the states since she moved to Rome to study architecture four years ago, and she doesn't know what to expect. She's visiting New York for a while before flying down to California to spend time with her father and brother. The plan is to spend a couple of months here before moving back to New Jersey for the job at a relatively new firm.

"Annabeth!" She hears a high pitched squeal, and scans the crowds to find Silena waving excitedly at her. She beams at her best friend, throwing her arms around the brunette.

"You guys are all here!" She cries, seeing Beckendorf, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Percy. She gives them all big hugs. "Oh, I missed you all." She smiles, and they're all chattering at once. She's staying with Percy, but the entire group's headed over to spend some time with her.

Percy has his arm around her in some form or the other for the whole time, until Silena decides it's time for them to leave, because they're meeting up for drinks later on in the night, anyway. They all troop out one by one, and Annabeth's thoughts turn to Percy, who's beaming at her over Hazel's head. They started dating in junior year, and while long distance had been extremely difficult for the two of them, they'd managed to pull through. Now that Annabeth's moving to Jersey, she hopes things will get easier for them.

After seeing Hazel out the door, Percy's by her side in a flash. He presses his lips against hers, and kisses her sweetly, and Annabeth lets out a small moan, because there's nothing as satisfying as having Percy's lips slant against hers this perfectly. She reaches out and tangles her fingers in his hair, relishing the feeling of being able to touch him. He pulls away slowly, holding her hips gently.

"Hi." He smiles at her, and Annabeth feels her insides turn to jelly. She presses a kiss on his jaw.

"Hi." She mumbles. "Missed you."

"You're the one who didn't come back." Percy teases.

He'd visited her once a year, but there's just no getting enough of Percy Jackson, she thinks.

"I love you." She says. It isn't mumbled- It's loud and clear, because she means it. She feels it and she means it and she _trusts_ Percy to not let her down. They've been together for eight years, and this is the first time she's ever said it to him. His smile is wide and his eyes are shining when he hears it. He's never pushed it out of her, and he didn't say it to her, either, probably because he didn't want her to feel awkward about it, and she respected it.

"I love you too." He tells her quietly, leaning in and kissing her again. She smiles against his lips, feeling ridiculously lightheaded. She giggles into the kiss, and she feels Percy laughing too, until they both have to draw back.

"I love you." She repeats, feeling oddly weightless. "I love you so, so much, Percy Jackson."

"God, Annabeth, get back here." He pulls her closer to him, his fingers digging into her hips. He nuzzles into the crook of her neck, breath tickling her slightly.

"I love you." He breathes.

It's not really that bad, Annabeth thinks.

* * *

 **Extra addition (A/N):**

 **This is to the guest kind enough to leave behind a review for me. You haven't given me a name, but I think your comment went something along the likes of, "So, Annabeth's a slut." And these are the kinds of comments I usually don't pay much attention to, but I think you're being extremely narrow minded right now. Stop slut shaming and judging people, because sex _isn't a crime_. Everyone does it. It's just one of the many issues I feel extremely strongly about, and it's also to anybody else who has comments about the fact that, in my story, Annabeth has sex with someone, because y'all can read smut but not vague mentions of sex seems a little unfair to me, maybe I'm wrong. I believe that it's totally fine to be with as many partners as you like, especially if you're a woman, because if I'd written it the other way, everyone's going to be like "Ohh! Percy's so hot, wow he's so sexy he must have a great booty to be scoring with all these girls, yaasss!" And that's not okay.**

 **Sluts are _great people_. **

**Also, to confirm your thoughts, yes. Annabeth's a slut. And she's fucking awesome. #Can'tBeShamed**

 **To everyone I've annoyed because I spoke too much : Sorry palz**

 **To everyone I've annoyed because I'm against slut shaming and I'm a feminist : lol**

 **I'll be off now, have a great day babies! ~ Annie x**

 **P.S**

 **One of my soon to be published stories is about Annabeth having a _whole lot of sex_ , right, and if it makes you uncomfortable, then by all means, stop reading. I try very hard to stick to the character, and I very truly believe that characters do behave the way I write them out to under different circumstances or in different situations. Annabeth Chase happens to be my favorite character in the entire series, mind you, and I sometimes worry that I play her too high up, and if you do catch me doing that, feel free to call me out haha **


End file.
